At the MFA: 'Bharat Ratna: Jewels of Modern Indian Art'

Chris Bergeron

Wednesday

Nov 25, 2009 at 12:01 AMNov 25, 2009 at 10:32 AM

'Bharat Ratna: Jewels of Modern Indian Art' reveals a multicultural awakening

Visitors entering the Indian Paintings and Decorative Arts Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts must first pass between two carved sandstone pillars from a 7th century cave temple in the Krishna River Valley.

Looking left, visitors will be drawn into the swirling red dreamscape of "Munna Appa's Kitchen," a 1994 oil painting by Arpita Singh depicting the plight women face in modern India,

Turning right, they'll see Jagdish Swaminathan's iridescent "The Tree, the Bird, the Shadow" which uses hallucinatory images to evoke the wealth of Indian culture.

These are just the pole stars of "Bharat Ratna: Jewels of Modern Indian Art," a mid-sized exhibit that simmers with the vivid colors and pulsing energy of Indian art after the 1947 independence from England.

It surveys six decades of artistic freedom through an ecumenical selection of works by 16 painters whose widely varied approaches embody India's diverse geography, religion and culture.

A tasty buffet rather than a feast, "Bharat Ratna," which translates literally to 'Jewel of India,' nonetheless provides a more than satisfying sampling of efforts by Indian artists to throw off several centuries of foreign cultural imperialism.

Noted collectors Rajiv and Payal Chaudhri, of New York, have loaned all 16 paintings in the exhibit.

For this show, they have chosen representative works which reveal the ongoing tension between the "evolving modernism" of Western art and India's millennial traditions.

Viewers familiar with Hindu statuary will find many painters who shared a similar interest in conceptual rather than realistic imagery and a mutual infatuation with rich hues and mythic subjects.

Rajiv Chaudhri said he wanted to share his collection with American viewers because "I am a firm believer in the idea that the art of all ages and religions is the common heritage of mankind."

"Since Egyptian, Greek and Chinese art are part of my heritage, it follows that I also believe that Indian art is, or should be, part of the heritage of America, Europe, and the other regions of the world," he said.

Organized by Edward Saywell, chairman of Contemporary Art and MFA programs, it is the museum's first exhibition of modern Indian art. MFA staffers Jane Portal, Amanda Broder and Angie Simonds all worked on the show which runs through Aug. 22.

Payal Chaudhri said painters from all religions created distinctly Indian art that expressed their shared national identity rather than cultural differences.

"This is the beauty of modern Indian art. As you look at these paintings, you will not be able to distinguish who painted which: a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhists, a Parsee, or a Sikh. Nor will you know who is the Bengali, the Punjabi, the Kashmiri, the Marathi, the Tamil or the Kannada, or who was born to a high caste or not. They are all represented here. The reason you can not tell is because they are all Indian," she said.

Often called the "Picasso of India," Maqbool Fida Husain is represented by a spectacular 1964 oil "Ganesh Darwaza" which depicts a menagerie of actual beasts and divine creatures capering outside the gates of a famous fort. In a single luminous image, Husain demonstrates his genius for portraying India as a fabulously multilayered amalgam of religions, cultures and traditions.

In an informative, free brochure accompanying the show, Husain remarked: "In 1945, I was one of a group of painters who thought we must find our own roots. ...I have a very definite goal. I must find a bridge between the Western technique and the Eastern concept."

Visitors need no special familiarity with Indian art history to recognize the expressive power and striking beauty of these works.

While many had absorbed Western influences, the artists in this show were moving beyond borrowed techniques to forge new identities from venerable traditions.

Krishnaji Howlaji Ara painted classical Indian dancers in shimmering Impressionist colors. Raised Catholic in Portuguese Goa, Francis Newton Souza infused the martyred figures of "Man and Woman" with the darkly brooding sheen of Christian icons. Trying to express Indian subjects with Western techniques, Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar depicted the everyday life of the poor in the flaming colors of French impressionists.

Asked to identify common elements shared by artists in the show, Payal Chaudhri cited their "sensuality (as) a celebration of life that reveals itself in the subject matter and the confident use of color."

She said the works in "Jewels" make it evident that spirituality is "the hallmark of traditional Indian art." "At the same time, these artists are intensely individualistic and are not afraid to strike out of their own," said Payal Chaudhri.

THE ESSENTIALS:

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is open seven days a week.

Hours: Saturday through Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; and Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.; (Thursday and Friday after 5 p.m. only the West Wing is open).

The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Patriots Day.

General admission (which includes two visits in a 10-day period) is $17 for adults; $15 for seniors and students 18 and older. Admission for students who are university members is free as is admission for children under 17 during non-school hours.

For information, call 617-267-9300 or visit www.mfa.org.

THE ESSENTIALS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is open seven days a week.

Hours: Saturday through Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; and Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.; (Thursday and Friday after 5 p.m. only the West Wing is open). The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Patriots Day.

General admission (which includes two visits in a 10-day period) is $17 for adults; $15 for seniors and students 18 and older. Admission for students who are university members is free as is admission for children under 17 during non-school hours.

For information, call 617-267-9300 or visit www.mfa.org.

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